Dollhouse
by Olleander
Summary: A series of short, Doll-centric drabbles. Various themes, various characters, various lengths. Contains some non-canonical events, but hey, isn't that what fanfiction is all about? Chapter Seventeen: Something big just happened, and it's going to change her life.
1. Cammy: Beginning

**beginning**.

Main Characters: Cammy

Word Count: 289

* * *

Cammy feels nothing but elation when she sees all of her sisters together.

To see twelve young women picking up the pieces of their lives after what Shadaloo had done to them brought upon a trickle of happiness in her heart. Theirs was a hard road to travel on, but she was confident that they could whether anything the universe threw at them.

After all, they just survived having spent three years serving as assassins, spies and mindless killers under the control of an egomaniacal dictator. How much harder could the real world be?

Of the thirteen former Shadaloo Dolls, Cammy included, twelve were currently cramped into the tiny apartment that the Delta Red operative shared with Satsuki, who had been the second of her sisters to have been released from Bison's brainwashing. Juni, who had to go through being pushed off an airplane while strapped onto a gurney, landing on a blizzard-wrecked mountaintop in the Alps that resulted a bout with hypothermia leaving her hospitalized for almost two months, was still in Germany.

She promised she'd get on the first Berlin-London flight in the morning. From the panting Cammy could hear from the phone call, she figured Juni might've been a little preoccupied in the middle of the night.

Cammy couldn't blame her sister for such late night activities. Juni's love interest was most definitely pleasing to the eye.

Until her final sister arrived, the twenty-year-old would simply have to cover for the rest of the former Dolls and pay for their expenses.

Glancing at the receipt in her hand, Cammy wondered why in the world it took so much money to feed and clothe her amnesiac sisters.

"CAMMY, SANTAMU BROKE THE TV!"

Juni couldn't come soon enough.

**/end**


	2. Juni and Juli: Understanding

**understanding**.

Main Characters: Juni, Juli

Word Count: 263

* * *

Juni wonders why they always come to her when Juli needs assistance.

The rest of the former Dolls had made a complete recovery, save for one. Juli seemed to be stuck in a permanent catatonic stupor; she couldn't speak, didn't react, and was unable to stand up on her own. Her days consisted of apathetically staring out the window, refusing food when offered, and being rolled around the house in her wheelchair by any one of her twelve sisters.

Her method of communication currently consisted of quick glances with her eyes, and small twitches of her hand.

Juni simply doesn't get how no one but her understands Juli's quiet signs.

When the brunette looks down, she is in thought. When her eyes shift from left to right, she is pleased; from right to left, it is the opposite. When she closes her eyes, she is sad. When she looks up, she is curious.

When her index finger twitches, she is itchy; her middle finger means she is angry, and her pinky means she's hungry. Her thumb twitches when she's thirsty. Boredom is indicated by the small jerk of both her thumb and index finger, but only on her left hand. Doing the same on her right hand means she is in pain. When her entire hand twitches, it indicates that she's frightened, and seeks comfort.

It really wasn't that hard.

However, for all that she understands about Juli, there is one motion that completely baffles the orange-haired German.

Juni wonders what goes through her partner's mind when Juli wraps her fingers around hers.

**/end**


	3. Dolls: Olympiad

**olympiad**.

Main Characters: All

Word Count: 418

* * *

Watching the 2012 London Olympics with the former Dolls of Shadaloo was, in and of itself, more interesting than the event they were watching.

With each girl hailing from a different country, the spirit of competition was not lost on the thirteen young women, who often wrestled each other for a spot on the sofa when one of their countries came on the screen. And as they all were genetically enhanced with immense fighting abilities, these scuffles have resulted in three broken televisions, a shattered lamp, and a sizable hole on the leather sofa.

Xiayu and Jianyu were especially pleased with the constant stream of gold medals their home country seemed to be raking in. The influx of medals China seemed to be getting often caused minor conflicts within the household.

Juni and Marz were _adamant_ in their belief that Germany touched the wall during the Men's 4x200 Freestyle Relay before China did.

The two Chinese countered with the fact that China's bronze medal, and Germany's lack of one, in the event proves otherwise.

Février would then state that it was quite obvious France was simply better than both countries and that if it wasn't for _those cheating Americans_, France would've claimed the gold.

After an argument like this, Santamu would often pipe up; stating her home country of Vietnam hadn't even won a _single_ medal yet.

Noembelu doesn't even care about the number of medals Mexico wins. She instead wonders why she is unable to grasp the reasoning as to why the hell the Mexican team would wear gaudily coloured gabáns and sombreros in the opening ceremony. And when Marz decides to poke fun of Mexico's fashion mishap, Decapre reminds her about Germany's own neon coloured jackets.

Cheering for their home teams usually involve one sister trying to out-scream the other in hopes that by pulling their vocal chords, their team would somehow defeat the other and claim gold. The end result was often a loud, extremely audible mess of screams and yelling that made Satsuki thankful they didn't have any neighbours within a twenty-hundred yard radius.

Then again, with the sheer volume of their screams, Enero's positive that their closest neighbours could hear them anyway.

When Cammy returns home from a day of ensuring the safety of the numerous international athletes, she doesn't even ask why another piece of furniture had a hole in it, or why the coffee table had a large crack in the middle, or why Aprile is already out of bandages.

She only imagines how much worse things could've been had Bison decided to kidnap an American.

**/end**


	4. Enero: Curled

**curled**.

Main Characters: Enero

Word Count: 264

* * *

Did you know that it takes Enero two hours and fifteen minutes to curl her hair each morning?

When the pink-haired Spaniard wakes up, the sky is still dark. By the time she finishes curling her hair into their usual ringlets, the sun should have risen already, and the rest of the household is on the verge of stirring from sleep.

In fact, Enero uses the most hair products out of all thirteen women. She goes through countless bottles of hairspray, anti-fizz mousse, curl care moisturizers, serums, oils, shampoos and conditioners weekly. It takes a lot to keep her hair healthy after all the curling it endures each morning.

Don't even ask about the colour. The last person who insisted it was dyed spent a week in intensive care.

When straightened, Enero's hair is almost as long as Decapre and Cammy's, reaching to just around her waist. It's a sight to behold when she steps out of the bathroom with a waterfall of damp, pink hair falling down her shoulders. Her sisters had offered to style her hair into various forms of braids, loops, ties and plaits, yet Enero always refuses.

She says she prefers her curled pigtails, no matter how troublesome they are to style each morning.

She also says she's pretty sure someone had told her that her pigtails were cute, and that she should wear her hair like that more often.

What Enero doesn't remember is that those exact same words were the last thing her father had said to her before Shadaloo had taken his life and her with it.

**/end**


	5. Decapre: Inferior

**inferior**.

Main Characters: Decapre, Cammy

Word Count: 354

* * *

It's not a secret that Decapre, the twelfth Doll, suffered from a severe inferiority complex.

When she stares at herself in the mirror, she sees a half-scarred face; a constant reminder of her imperfection. She thinks about getting a skin graft to cover her scars, only to realize it would only make her a copy of the perfected form.

She did not need to look like Cammy. Cammy was what she could have been, and although she's not quite sure why, the mere thought of it stings Decapre to the core.

For now, she would have to make do with her scarred visage. Better that her face shows her own imperfection than bring about thoughts of what ifs. And considering she no longer had her mask, nor was allowed to wear one on a constant basis, Decapre simply had to live with it.

She knows her sisters don't mind, especially Cammy. They all experienced the same tortuous past, and as such, no one judged each other on physical appearances. And Decapre certainly doesn't blame Cammy for her appearance. It wasn't like her sister took a blowtorch and purposely burned half her face off.

At least, Decapre was pretty sure she didn't.

But still, it didn't change the fact that Cammy was the perfect one. Her attacks were stronger, faster, and more potent, and she was significantly quicker than Decapre. It was why the former masked Doll took to using claws when fighting; what she couldn't make up in speed and strength, she did with reach.

It didn't always work, though.

To Decapre, it was obvious that she simply wasn't as good as Cammy, and because of it, she often wondered why they even bothered rescuing her in the first place. Anything she did, Cammy could definitely do better.

That is, until Decapre overheard her talking on the phone one evening.

"What do you mean, you don't remember Decapre?" she had heard Cammy say, who was balancing a telephone within the crook of her neck as she opened a can of cat food, "She's my big sister, of course. She's better than me at everything."

**/end**


	6. Jianyu and Xiayu: In the Blood

**in the blood**.

Main Characters: Jianyu and Xiayu, with a minor appearance from Aprile

Word Count: 452

* * *

The word "sisters" meant something a little different to Jianyu and Xiayu. Particularly because unlike the rest of the former Dolls, they were, in fact, actually sisters.

"Look, see?" Jianyu pointed at the numerous bars that were neatly lined up on the page they were staring at, "This one and this one have a bunch of lines in common. They're almost the same!"

"Huh…" Xiayu remarked. She had to admit, a lot of the bars on her DNA chart was similar to Jianyu's…did that really mean they were biologically related?

Just before being released from the hospital, each of the girls had a bit of blood drawn as a DNA sample. With the advances in technology, Cammy held a belief that with a little bit of DNA matching, they could find out their real families, and perhaps even return to them.

Of course, with almost seven billion people in the world, they thought finding their families would be akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. Not impossible, but very, very hard to do.

Never did they think they'd actually find a match, especially amongst themselves.

Jianyu wrapped her arms around Xiayu's shoulders, "This is great! We're really sisters! I mean, we're all sisters, but we're _actually_ sisters!"

The other Chinese gave a small smile, "Yeah, I guess we really are."

"I wonder who's older," Jianyu pursed her lips in thought, "_Jianyu _comes before _Xiayu, _which means I come before you, which means I'm older, right?"

"You're too immature to be older than me," Xiayu replied, pulling herself away from her now-apparent sister. "Besides, I'm taller than you are."

"Height and maturity have nothing to do with who's older!" Jianyu protested, before pausing, "What do you mean I'm _too immature_!?"

Xiayu stood up from the kitchen table and stared at Jianyu, "Because you're loud, obnoxious and make terrible jokes at dinner."

"That doesn't mean I'm immature! It means I'm fun, and it makes you boring!" Jianyu stepped up to her sister, pressing her forehead against hers. Xiayu pressed back, as the two locked into a heated staring contest. "And my jokes are _funny!_"

"I'm not boring, I'm mature!"

"You _are definitely_ boring!"

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

As the two sisters continued to bicker, a red-haired Italian walked into the kitchen, her eyebrows rising at the scene before her. The two Chinese women were always fighting with each other, but this was just a whole new level.

Aprile glanced at the papers on the table and scanned through them. With a brain full of medical knowledge, she immediately knew what she was looking at, and deciphered the information presented in black and white.

"Oh! You're twins!"

**/end**


	7. Satsuki: Sanctuary

**sanctuary**.

Main Characters: Satsuki, with a minor appearance from Noembelu

Word Count: 272

* * *

It used to have been just her, Juni and Cammy.

With just the three of them, finding some quiet time for thinking wasn't an extremely difficult task. All Satsuki had to do was lock her bedroom door. She enjoyed the calm silence, with a cup of warm cocoa at hand and a book on her lap. In fact, if she could, she'd rather spend her entire day immersed in a good story than actually go to work.

But alas, she had to get the money for new novels somewhere.

Although Satsuki is genuinely happy that all her sisters were safe under one roof, she desperately misses the quiet. She doesn't even have the option of locking her bedroom door anymore; Santamu inhabits the other half of the room. The Vietnamese girl respects Satsuki's privacy, but she was still much too energetic to remain quiet for too long.

The young Japanese tried looking for other ways to find a silent spot for her daily reading. She purchased a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, but there were too many things going on around that distracted her, even if she couldn't hear anything. She tried relocating to the library, but libraries had a closing time, and she enjoyed reading well into the night.

It was after Février fell ill that Satsuki finally knew what to do about her predicament.

With her headphones perched atop her head, a cup of hot cocoa on the counter, and a brand new book on her lap, Satsuki read on, oblivious to the sound of fists banging upon the door.

"Satsuki, open up!" Noembelu cried out, "_I really have to pee!_"

**/end**


	8. Noembelu and Juli: The Hawk

**the hawk**.

Main Characters: Noembelu, Juli and a guest appearance by Thunder Hawk

Word Count: 447

Note: Please refer to Chapter 2 _Understanding_ to find out what Juli is feeling in this chapter.

* * *

When the giant known as Thunder Hawk visited their home, Noembelu was ecstatic.

She doesn't remember much, but there's a small part of her mind that reminds her about a time when everything was much simpler. She remembers climbing onto someone's shoulders as he handed her a small bag of candy, and they would nibble on the gummy animals with their legs dangling off the side of a large mesa.

The Mexican girl couldn't put her finger on it, but she couldn't help but smile widely when the much, much larger man ducked through their door. T Hawk's seven-foot-seven frame managed to fit into their humble home, making their house seem much smaller with the man inside.

"Um, maybe we can talk outside instead?"

She could sense his relief when they stepped out into the backyard.

T. Hawk pulls a small bag of gummy worms from the pocket of his vest and smiles.

"These were your favourites."

Noembelu doesn't remember how, but the two of them suddenly found themselves on the roof with an empty bag of gummy worms and their legs dangling off the side. He tells her about their home, her family, the things she had done in her youth, and the things she aspired to do as an adult. He tells her stories of their people, the adventures they used to have when they were younger, and the practical jokes she used to play on the village elders. He tells her about her eagle, White Feather, and how the bird had flown for days at a time searching for her.

Lastly, he reminds her of her name.

Little Eagle.

When Thunder Hawk sees Juli, the brunette blinks, as if the man in front of her was simply part of the landscape. She says nothing, she does nothing…she simply stares, quietly.

He wonders what's gotten into her, but says nothing. He sees her lifeless eyes, and knows the woman in the wheelchair wasn't his beloved.

Not anymore.

She was no longer the happy, spirited young woman he had played together with in his youth, nor was she the determined nurse working tirelessly with her father in their small clinic.

She was no longer the Julia he had fallen for.

Still, as he turns to leave, promising Little Eagle that he would return, Thunder Hawk remains hopeful that perhaps one day, things might return to what they used to be. He holds Juli's hand gently, for even a man of his size is capable of the gentlest touch, and he tells her that he loves her.

Juli watches the large Mexican walk away. Her eyes close, as her right index finger and thumb twitches slightly.

**/end**


	9. Février: Meiko, part one

**meiko, part one**.

Main Characters: Février

Word Count: 451

* * *

The street they lived on was relatively safe, for the most part. Of course, when you live in a house full of thirteen skilled former assassins for the world's deadliest criminal syndicate, you really had nothing to worry about.

It had been Février's turn to go grocery shopping one evening, and although her arms were littered with shopping bags, she knew she would be more than capable of taking anyone down if they decided to try something funny.

The young Frenchwoman blew a strand of dark pink hair from her eyes in frustration as she shuffled along the sidewalk. Why did it take so much food to feed everyone? It wasn't as if they had an extremely high metabolism and required large amounts of food on a daily basis.

Oh, wait…they did.

Next time, she would make a serious suggestion about shopping in pairs.

As she turned the corner onto the next street, she was faced with the sound of laughter and a quiet whimpering. Her eyebrow rose as the laughter grew louder, accompanied by the sound of hard things hitting a soft thing, and the pained whimpering continued. Février's eyes narrowed as she peeked into a small alley where the noises seemed to originate.

"Well. Look what we have here." A deep, masculine voice said, and the laughter immediately stopped, "A pretty little girl, all by herself."

Surely, they weren't talking about her.

"Why don't we help her with her bags? What do you think, boys?"

Yes, actually, they were talking about her.

The silhouettes of about nine to ten large men stepped out of the alley, each one holding a makeshift weapon in their hands. Some were smiling eagerly, tapping their club of choice against their hand in anticipation for the hunt.

"You were beating someone up, weren't you?" Février asked, unfazed.

"What about it, girly?"

"I don't like bullies."

The fight lasted a few minutes, and ended with ten crumpled bodies on the ground.

Février picked up her bags of groceries and walked into the alley. The whimpering continued.

She expected to see a bruised and bloody person sprawled out on the alley floor. Instead, she found the crumpled body of an injured dog. It was small, like the size of a puppy just about to hit adulthood, and its grayish-white fur was tattered and bloody. It shrank away from her as she approached, shivering slightly.

How dare those men take advantage of something so innocent?

Lowering herself to the ground, Février reached out a hand, beckoning towards the dog, "I won't hurt you, okay?" she said in a gentle voice, "I'm going to help you."

She couldn't just leave it like this. She had to do something.

**/to be continued**


	10. Dolls: Meiko, part two

**meiko, part two **.

Main Characters: All

Word Count: 297

Note: This chapter is very rushed, and quite frankly, not my best work. Feel free to skip.

* * *

"Can't we keep her?"

The blonde Delta Red operative pinched the bridge of her nose as she was bombarded with ten pleading voices. Juli, of course, was still incapable of speech and simply stared out the window, oblivious to the white puppy asleep by her feet. Juni had returned to Germany a week earlier, and would be back within the month.

Cammy sighed in resignation. While it was true they already had two lovely and perfect cats, she was easily outnumbered by her dog-loving sisters. If she said no, they'd probably keep the dog anyway.

She should call Abel and tell him to cancel his flight. Turns out he won't be getting a puppy after all.

"Fine," Cammy threw her hands in the air, "The dog can stay."

Juli didn't even notice the sudden appearance of her sisters as they immediately bombarded the sleeping puppy.

"We still need a name!" Noembelu whispered, not wanting to disturb either the dog, or her wheelchair-bound…sister? Friend? T. Hawk didn't explain their relationship very well.

"Février was the one that found her," Aprile mused, gently running her hand through the dog's fur. It was littered with bandages and wraps, and a plastic cone was secured around its neck to keep it from scratching and chewing the bandages off.

"Uh…" the Frenchwoman scratched her head, "I…don't really know what name to pick."

"She's a year-old female Utonagan puppy," Satsuki read the small notebook which the vet had left for them to use as a reference. "We can work with that."

There was a silence.

"What about…Meike?" Santamu suggested, "I saw a woman on the newspaper with that name. I think it's pretty."

A murmur spread amongst the sisters until Marz spoke up.

"It means _bitter_ in German."

"…oh."

"Then what about Mei_ko_?"

**/end**


	11. Cammy: Intervention

**intervention**.

Main Characters: Cammy, and the rest of the Dolls

Word Count: 207

* * *

Cammy honestly didn't know why her sisters calld for an "emergency family meeting". Even Juni was present, although her appearance was restricted to the cell phone Enero was holding in her hands.

"We're doing this because we care about you, Cammy." Juni said through the phone's speakers.

"I have no bloody idea what you're all talking about." The blonde replied, "What is going on?"

"We need to talk about a serious problem," Noembelu piped up, "Cammy, you know that we love you."

"It's because we love you that we all decided it was time to tackle your debilitating addiction." Février added.

"_What?_ I don't have an addiction!"

"That's the first stage," Aprile muttered, looking at a clipboard in her hands, "Denial."

"_I don't have a problem._" Cammy began to stand up from her seat, only to be pushed back down by four pairs of hands, "This is _ridiculous_!"

"Second stage. Anger."

"Cammy," Marz placed a hand on her sister's shoulder, "We're going to help you through this, okay?"

"We're all in this together."

"After all you've done to help us, it's our turn to help you."

Satsuki held out a small bag, and pulled something out of it.

"Now Cammy," she began, "Let's talk about wearing pants…"

**/end**


	12. Dolls: Game Over

**game over**.

Main Characters: All

Word Count: 312

* * *

Aprile was the first to die.

It was a common tactic to target the medic of the group; a tactic their enemies had used wisely. Despite being prepared, Aprile had fallen to a well-aimed bullet to the head, courtesy of an enemy sniper.

With Aprile's death, the rest of them had been picked off one by one. Février had been cornered by a massive opponent, who made quick work of the smaller woman's neck. Santamu fared a little better; managing to out-run most of her opponents before a dart lodged itself in her leg. She died not long afterward. Satsuki fought diligently, but not even her skill with a melee weapon could defeat a bullet to the heart.

The twins entered the fight later than the others, and as such, they managed to last longer than the rest of their sisters. Although they normally bickered without end, Jianyu and Xiayu flaunted their flawless teamwork and managed to defeat a few of their adversaries. However, after Jianyu accidentally detonated a hidden mine, Xiayu was left alone, and she too succumbed to the relentless shower of bullets.

Pretty soon, it was all down to Enero, Marz and Decapre.

The blonde woman stood watch as the other two planned their escape tactic behind an overturned dumpster bin.

"If we draw their fire here, Decapre would have a clear shot of them," Enero muttered, pointing to a direction in the distance.

"That'd be a suicide mission."

"We'll be fine; after all, we're Dolls, aren't we?"

"Decapre, can you do it?"

The two turned around to see Decapre's body on the ground.

"Dammit, Decapre…!"

They didn't even have a chance to react as a grenade landed between the two. With a bright flash, they joined the rest of their sisters.

"…that was the worst game ever."

"It was your idea to play _Extreme Combat KillZONE _online, Marz."

**/end**


	13. Cammy and Santamu: Lucidity, part one

**lucidity, part one**.

Main Characters: Cammy and Santamu

Word Count: 660

* * *

Cammy knew that it was inevitable.

It happened to her, it happened to Juni, and it was just about done with Satsuki.

She had told her sisters about the eventual nightmares that would begin to plague them at night, and that should they ever want to talk about it, she was all ears, twenty-four seven. Cammy had difficulty remembering this when she found herself roused from her sleep at 2:30 in the morning.

"Cammy…" Santamu whispered, leaning over her bed, "Can…can I talk to you?"

The blonde operative groaned as she sat up, rubbing her eyes with a yawn, "What's going on, Santamu?"

"I…I had a dream."

With an understanding, albeit sleepy nod, Cammy slipped out of bed, putting her feet into a pair of slippers and motioned for her sister to follow her, "Let's talk in the kitchen." She whispered as she led her out of the room she shared with Decapre, Jianyu and Xiayu.

"So," Cammy stirred her tea gently as Santamu looked down into her glass of milk, "Want to tell me what happened?"

"Well…" Santamu began slowly, as if picking her words carefully, "I think…I was in Vietnam…"

* * *

_Santamu's heart was pounding against her chest as she raced through her small village. She had found a spear on the ground, right beside the body of her uncle. The tip was already stained with blood, and she hoped the blood didn't belong to anyone she knew._

_She didn't know where these men came from, or what they wanted with her village, but the sound of her neighbours screaming was enough for her to want to do something about it. The young girl had been out swimming when she saw the smoke billowing from above the trees. Without thinking, she climbed out of the river and made her way towards her home._

_Her uncle's bloody body was just outside the village. There already was a river of blood trailing from inside when she got there._

_Using her uncle's spear wasn't difficult for her. All the children in her village knew how to fight with their traditional weapons, and the spear was just one of them. The first uniformed foreigner she encountered ended up with a brand new hole in his heart. The other strange uniformed men followed, and soon, there was a trail of soldiers behind her._

_She reached the center of the village, her eyes wide as she saw the remnants of a massacre. There were bodies everywhere, and the smell of blood hung in the air. Men, women, grandparents and children…their bodies lay lifeless, sprawled on the ground._

_Santamu thought she was going to be sick._

_But, as she soon realized, there was no time for that. A group of uniformed soldiers had noticed that she wasn't dead, and were approaching her with the intent of fixing that. Gripping her spear tightly, she began to step back, looking for a way out._

"_What do we have here?" A voice asked from behind the soldiers. Instantly, they straightened and stepped aside, revealing a tall man in red. Santamu swallowed a lump in her throat as she held onto her spear, pointing it at the strange man. She couldn't understand what he was saying, but of the soldiers followed his orders, he must've been the one who caused the destruction of her village. "Why haven't you killed this girl?"_

"_She recently entered the village, sir," one of the soldiers replied, "And…she's fast. She killed most of the Third Platoon, sir."__The man looked at her, his pupil-less white eyes meeting her brown ones as a chill went up her spine._

"_To be able to defeat my soldiers with nothing but a primitive staff is not something that can be overlooked."_

_He began to approach her as his cape fluttered in the breeze._

"_I came here in order to strengthen my hold over the Vietnamese black market, but I suppose picking up a doll can be considered an added bonus."_

**/to be continued**


	14. Enero and Février: Lucidity, part two

**lucidity, part two**

Main Characters: Enero, Février

Word Count: 504

* * *

Enero stared at the ceiling, her fingers twisting around a single lock of bright pink hair. Frowning slightly, she rolled over to the side, trying not to make too much noise as Février was still asleep on the bunk beneath hers, and Marz on the adjacent bed. She had just woken up from the strangest dream…although the details were rather blurry. She could barely remember a man…and perhaps a woman…there was a house too, if she could remember properly. She was also pretty sure she was in it; after all, bright pink hair wasn't exactly very forgettable.

But for all that she forgot about her dream, Enero wonders why a heavy feeling suddenly welled up in her heart.

Closing her eyes, the Spaniard attempted to sleep once more, only to be bombarded with a series of flashing images that she couldn't help but let out a sharp gasp as her eyes flicked open after a few minutes.

She was beginning to harbor a severe dislike for glass tubes.

With a heavy sigh, the young woman sat up and swung her legs off the side of the top bunk, her uncurled hair a tangled mess at 3am. Rubbing her eyes, she hopped down quietly, expertly weaving through the piles of clothing that none of the room's occupants wanted to pick up. She needed something to drink, maybe a cup of tea, or milk…something to get rid of the thoughts that lingered in her mind.

"Enero?"

Spinning around, the pink-haired girl turned to face Février, sitting up from her bunk with the small white puppy curled up at her feet, "What are you doing up this early?"

"It's…nothing." Enero replied, dropping her shoulders, "I had a stupid dream."

Février looked down, her fingers suddenly intertwining beneath the blanket, "I…I guess bad dreams is normal around here, huh?" There was a short silence between the two, "…do you want to talk about it?"

Enero rubbed her forehead before walking up to Février's bed, sitting down on the edge as the Frenchwoman shuffled over to make room. She bent over, resting her elbows on her knees as she stared at the wall.

"Just people I don't know…but I feel like I should know. A blurry face or two…I think. And laughing…or hugging, it's hard to remember, but I think it was happy. Then a bunch of tubes, and screaming…gunshots…"

She sighed again, shaking her head before turning to her sister. "And you?"

Février scratched the back of her head slightly, "I barely remember mine. I think there were children…lots of children, and maybe an old house, or something like that. And then there was an explosion and lots of shadows…something cracked, and then I was drowning." She looked at Enero, tilting her head, "I don't really get it."

"I don't think we're supposed to." The Spaniard stood up, stretching slightly, "I'm going to get something to drink, want to come?"

"Sure. Do you think anyone's up yet?"

"It's three in the morning, who'd be up at this hour?"

**/to be continued**


	15. Aprile & Noembelu: Lucidity, part three

**lucidity, part three**.

Main Characters: Aprile, Juli and Noembelu

Word Count: 527

* * *

With a loud thud, Noembelu woke up to find herself sprawled out on the floor.

"Noembelu! Are you okay?" Aprile's head popped out from the side of the top bunk, worry etched onto her features as the young Mexican groaned.

"I'm fine." She said, slowly getting up. Aprile hopped down from the top bunk, offering a hand to her sister as she rubbed her forehead. "I guess I was dreaming a little too hard. I was imagining what my home was from what Thunder Hawk described to me." Noembelu smiled, "I can't wait to see it for myself."

"Why didn't you go home with him?"

"Because…it wouldn't be fair," she replied, taking a seat onto the bottom bunk, "No one else knows their families, or where they came from…it just wouldn't feel right."

"Is that why you don't like being called 'Little Eagle'?"

Noembelu nodded, "It's just not fair for everyone. It doesn't feel like my name, and I'd feel left out, you know?"

Aprile nodded, giving her sister a small smile, "Would you believe me if I said I think I've seen my family?"

"Really? Where?"

The Italian let out a chuckle as she took a seat beside her sister, "Well, it was just in my dreams, but I'm pretty sure it's my family. I keep seeing a little boy with red hair, and he's always telling me to chase him. When I finally catch him, he disappears…then he says he's bored of playing hide and seek, and that it's time for dinner."

The two began to giggle, before they stopped, hearing a quiet shuffle on the bed beside theirs. Turning slightly, their eyes fell on the sleeping figure of Juli, straight-backed and expressionless beneath the thick comforter.

Immediately the mood in the room dampened, as Noembelu let out a small sigh.

"Aprile," she began in a whisper, "Do you think she dreams?"

The redhead stood up and walked over to the other bed, brushing a strand of hair away from Juli's face, "Considering the things we dream about…I hope she doesn't."

Noembelu let out an exasperated sigh, running her hand through her unbraided hair, "Why…why won't she get better?"

"She just needs some time," was the hushed reply, "Something must've happened to her that didn't happen to us." Aprile looked at her Noembelu, "I know you and Juni would be relieved to hear her speak again."

"I just…I hope she does get better. When Hawk saw her, I could feel it." She looked at her sister, "I don't think I've ever seen anyone so sad before."

"I wouldn't worry about Juli," Aprile tried to reassure her with a small, yet genuine smile, "She's a tough one; she'll overcome this."

The younger Mexican was about to add something when the two saw a light coming out from the small space beneath their door. Glancing at each other, they slowly approached the door, peeking it open to see who would turn the hallway lights on at three-thirty in the morning.

"Was that Enero and Février?"

"What are they up to?"

"Want to go follow them?"

"Fine, but you're the one getting Juli out of bed today."

"…dammit."

**/to be continued**


	16. Satsuki: What If

**what if**.

Main Characters: Satsuki

Word Count: 261

Note: This chapter is based on a (semi-canonical?) reading which stated that Sakura was originally chosen by Shadaloo to become the 'Satsuki' Doll, but changed their mind to the current Satsuki when Sakura defeated the Shadaloo operatives who were sent to kidnap her.

* * *

Satsuki remains quiet as the doors to their house open, and her sisters enthusiastically greet their guest. Other than Cammy and Juni, the others are oblivious to her sudden introversion. Of course, she makes it difficult to catch; she smiles, greets, hugs and offers the polite comment here and there. But Cammy and Juni know that each one tears Satsuki apart.

The Japanese doesn't want to be spiteful, nor does she want to be mean. She simply can't help it. The constant thoughts of _if…_ plague her mind every time she comes face-to-face with Sakura Kasugano.

Her sisters are slowly becoming close friends with the young fighter, and Satsuki knows she can't do anything about it. Besides, Sakura didn't _really_ do anything to her, and she doubted she even knew why Satsuki felt such animosity.

Or even that Satsuki felt it about her in the first place. The former Japanese Doll was rather good at hiding her emotions. She knew Sakura didn't deserve her bitterness; she was actually a rather nice girl with a sweet personality. She was turning out to be a rather positive influence on the rest of the Dolls, and that was not something Satsuki could change no matter how she felt.

After a few minutes of polite mingling, Satsuki retreats into her bedroom, the thought _what if's_ following her.

She would never wish ill on another person, especially an ill such as becoming a Shadaloo Doll. But she can't help but wonder how different her life would be if Sakura was the one in her place instead.

**/end**


	17. Dolls: Family Portrait

**family portrait**.

Main Characters: The Dolls

Word Count: 486

* * *

The rest of the Dolls were left confused when Cammy rushed through the doors, grabbed Aprile by the arm, and raced into the main bedroom, locking the door. Barely a minute had passed since the strange event before Enero had managed to sneak a microphone underneath the door, that she connected to Marz's laptop, onto which to a multi-headphone splitter that Santamu had bought a few days ago was attached. Each jack was plugged into a pair of earphones, which was shared amongst the sisters, bar Decapre and Satsuki, who firmly believed in respecting Cammy and Aprile's privacy, and Juli, who…didn't know any better.

The others were not as considerate.

By the time everything had been set up, Cammy and Aprile were well into their conversation.

"…so, this Rose lady is from Italy?" they heard Aprile ask.

"Yes, from Genoa. She's a fortune teller, and she called me a while back with something you might really like."

"What is it?"

There was a brief moment of silence, and only footsteps could be heard. Cammy unclasped her bag, the one she wore to work, followed by the sounds of shuffling paper.

"She said that she had a young man visit her a few months ago asking about the whereabouts of his lost sister. She passed down the inquiry to me, and I spent the past few weeks cross-referencing the information and…I think I found your family."

There was a collective jaw-drop from the eavesdropping sisters, much to the curiosity of Decapre and Satsuki.

"W-what…?" Aprile asked, her voice cracking slightly.

"His name is Maggio Biancospino, and he currently lives in Borzonasca, in Italy. He's eighteen, and lives with his parents Rodrigo Biancospino Cristina Rossi-Biancospino." Cammy continued, shuffling a few more sheets of paper, "I managed to get access into Italy's Missing Persons database and…it turns out, they did file a report."

"Stop."

Everyone froze.

"I don't…I can't hear any more of this."

"But, Aprile, I thought-"

"No, it's just…I want to do this together…with all of us."

The remaining Dolls in another bedroom heard the sound of footsteps walking closer to the microphone, "You hear that, guys?" Cammy's voice echoed loudly, "You can stop eavesdropping now."

Within moments, everything was cleared away and everyone had gathered around the massive dining table. A sizable folder was in the middle of the table, with eleven pairs of eyes glaring intently at it. No one dared to open it.

"Well…Aprile…open it." Février nudged the Italian.

"I…don't know if I should," was the reply.

"Come on, this is big news! Open it!" Noembelu added.

"But…once I do, everything changes…"

"Who cares? Just because you have a family, doesn't mea-" Xiayu placed her hand over Jianyu's mouth. "It's your decision, Aprile, but it would be nice to know there are people out there who miss you terribly." The other twin finished.

After some more goading from her sisters, Aprile opened the folder.

**/end**


End file.
